The invention relates to an integrated circuit device comprising:
an active circuit provided in an active circuit area at a surface of a semiconductor body, said active circuit comprising active circuit devices, an interconnect structure comprising at least one patterned metal layer disposed in overlying relationship relative to the active circuit devices and a layer of passivating material disposed atop the interconnect structure, PA1 a plurality of bond pads, each providing a wire-bonding region for bonding a wire, said bond pads being disposed substantially over the active circuit area, PA1 electrical connections between the bond pads and the active circuit devices, said electrical connections extending from a circuit-connecting region provided by the bond pads and passing through the layer of passivating material. PA1 the circuit-connecting region of the bond pads is situated substantially outside of the wire-bonding region of the bond pads, PA1 the layer of passivating material substantially consists of inorganic material, PA1 the layer of passivating material beneath the wire-bonding region of the bond pads is substantially free from interruptions, PA1 the layer of passivating material and the bond pads have thicknesses that jointly counteract the occurrence of damage to the active circuit during bonding of the wire.
An integrated circuit device of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph is known from EP-A-0,587,442. The integrated circuit device described therein comprises active circuit devices provided in an active circuit area at a surface of a semiconductor body. In overlying relationship relative to the active circuit devices, an interconnect structure is disposed, which is provided with a layer of passivating material. On top of the layer of passivating material a plurality of bond pads is disposed which extend substantially over the active circuit area and are electrically connected to the active circuit devices through the layer of passivating material. In order to counteract the occurrence of damage to the active circuit area of the integrated circuit device due to forces exerted during bonding of a wire to each one of the bond pads, the layer of passivating material is composed of a polyimide. Alternatively, the layer of passivating material may be a polyimide layer on top of a silicon nitride or a silica layer. The polyimide absorbs and controls stresses transmitted from the bond pads to the active circuit area and, hence, provides for stress relief during wire bonding. Preferably, special requirements are imposed on certain physical properties of the polyimide applied, such as modulus of elasticity, coefficient of thermal expansion and dielectric constant.
A disadvantage of the known integrated circuit device is that, whereas conventional integrated circuit devices having bond pads arranged peripherally outside of the active circuit area rely on an inorganic passivating material, application of an additional or substitutive organic passivating material, i.e. a polyimide, is needed for stress relief in case the bond pads are disposed substantially over the active circuit area, thereby increasing the complexity of the integrated circuit device and its manufacturing process.